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I’ve been thinking of starting a new series on the blog, instead of the monthly favourites posts that I used to do on YouTube, I thought I would do a random series called “loving lately…” where every now and then I would post up what I am loving right now. It could be anything… and I’ll post whenever, as I can’t keep to a monthly schedule due to my work.

So to kick off the first post in this series, I am loving lately… Lorna Jane Active Wear.

There’s nothing better than a few new gym pieces to get your motivated and looking too cool for school in the yard gym. So for my birthday last month I asked family and friends for gift vouchers so that I could pick up some new gym gear from Lorna Jane. I also got some spanking new Nike Free Run joggers from the boy.

All the pieces above are what I treated myself to with my 20% off birthday voucher (you should really sign up for the Lorna Jane e-newsletters if you want to get a discount on your birthday and keep up to date with their promotions). Starting from the top left, the Edelina Crop AU$62.99, the Akira full length tight AU$98.99, bottom left is the Live Big Singlet AU$34.99 and the right is the Run for Fun Excel Tank AU$62.99.

I’m so obsessed with the LJ active wear, it just makes you feel instantly healthy and motivated as soon as you put it on. I remember my Mum wearing Lorna Jane back when she used to be a fitness instructor (and I was a little one) and I love that it’s a Queensland company.

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Sorry about the delay in posts hautees, life is always super busy for me and I hardly get a chance to do my nails let alone write a post. However, I know that some of you were waiting for my new hair reveal…

A few weeks back, I had my hair cut by Michael again at Oscar Oscar Salon Chermside and then I went and saw Amy at Dextress Hair Murrumba Downs for a renewed Balayge colour. This was the first time I had my colour done at Dextress and I was VERY happy with the result (even though I was a bit nervous at first).

This isn’t a beauty post per say, but I thought that I should share this with you all, so that you could all savour the “real beauty” in life… and that is family, friends and unconditional love. Please take a moment to appreciate what you have in life. As it could be all over in a second. I want you all to take the time to stop what you are doing and tell your closest family and friends just how much you love them.

I have my Mum to thank for this little burst of sappiness. I am running in the Mother’s Day Classic Fun Run this Mother’s Day and I urge you all to check it out and help out or even participate if you can. It’s a great cause and I love how it celebrates not only Women, but Mums in particular. I have my Mum to thank for a lot in my life. So Mum…. I LOVE YOU! Thanks for being you. And to all my dear family and friends, I love you too.

Here’s an email my Mum sent out yesterday that really brought a tear to my eye… I hope you don’t mind me sharing Mummy.

……………..

“To my dear friends

I am running the 8km event in the Mother’s Day Classic Fun Run… as a tribute to a wonderful friend who lost her battle with breast cancer – her bravery was amazing – her attitude was astonishing in the face of pain and suffering. If you feel inclined to support a worthy cause please follow this link

Miss Sarah Cook and I will be running together this year; it is a proud moment for me to have my eldest daughter entering this event to be with her mum. I would rather she run with me and than “for me”…

I hope you all have a wonderful mother’s day – whether you are a mum or have a beautiful mother that you cherish. Every special person in your life will enjoy the gift of being together as a family on Mother’s day.

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Timed to coincide with the launch of Marie Claire’s 200th edition issue, the Marie Claire James Street ‘Up Late’ event will see a myriad of shoppers descend upon James Street to take advantage of an array of special offers from the likes of Mecca Cosmetica, Endota, St Barts, Calexico and more… Think discounts, gifts with purchase, and designer meet-and-greets. Basically, one big stylish fête!

Not only are there over 70 fantastic special offers for you to access on the night, but Editor and Publisher Jackie Frank and her team will be in stores and walking the street, dishing out style advice and meeting shoppers. There’ll also be a special marie claire lounge opposite Harveys where you can nab a great goody bag, (crammed with an amazing array of products) and maybe a slice of their 200th birthday cake?

And here’s something even sweeter than cake… not only are stores offering delightful discounts and gifts with purchase, they’re also transforming their spaces, and hosting store parties (think champagne, cupcakes and macaroons).

Oh and did I mention some of Australia’s best designers will be there too? Heidi Middleton of sass and bide, Easton Pearson’s Pamela Easton and Lydia Pearson, Camilla Franks of Camilla, the boys from KSUBI and Bec Manning of Rebecca Manning, are just a few of the designers that will be in their stores on the evening.

And if that’s not enough… cru bar + cellar will be transformed into the Louis Roederer champagne bar, where you can take five, and experiences the “Artistry of Champagne”. Plus if you’re feeling a little peckish while you shop, there will be tantalizing street food options, like Mexican at Press, dumplings, steamed buns filled with pork belly, mushrooms and Middle Eastern pita pockets, dotted throughout the street. YUMMMMYYY!

I’ll be there, scoping out the new Mecca Cosmetica store and buying up big, saying HELLO! to 25% off all SOOT. garments, checking out the beautiful designer goods at Frockshop (they will have 20% off on the night), trying on gorgeous dresses at Jules & Roc (20% off store wide, including labels such as Shakuhachi, Manning Cartell and Shona Joy ), checking out the trendy shoes on offer at Zomp (enjoy 15% off store wide), having a squiz inside the new Ksubi store, and grabbing some dumplings and steamed pork buns from the street stalls.

There will be a few great beauty deals on for the one night only. At Endota Spa, book in for an hour treatment with dermalogica products, and take home one of their exfoliation duo packs. It’s filled with products that will give you the most polished skin possible.

Mecca Cosmetica are offering complimentary Smokey Eye Lessons to help you to master this timeless trend. Mecca’s Makeup Artist will teach you the secrets to creating the perfect smokey eye in just a few simple steps. Bookings are essential and subject to availability. Please contact the store on 07 3852 6960 to reserve your appointment.

So come and stay up late at the Marie Claire James Street ‘Up Late’ street party this Thursday March 29, from 5pm on James Street, Fortitude Valley Brisbane. The event is free to attend. Head to www.jamesst.com.au for more info.

Who is coming along? Let me know, it would be great to go shopping with you.

I’m floating on cloud nine still and I have a bit of love brain going on, so I’ll keep this post short and sweet.

In my previous post, I mentioned that I was going to try my luck at a Valentine’s Day nail art mani. And I did it! The glitter feature nail wasn’t exactly what I wanted (because I couldn’t find Essie A Cut Above anywhere!) and I decided last minute it would be fun to add some dots and love hearts.

So what did I end up using??

I headed to the shops in hope that the Nicki Minaj for OPI collection was on shelves,… AND IT WAS! Booyah! I have been waiting for the Pink Friday creme pink for sooooooooooo long. I also liked the look of the glitter and the turquoise, so I snapped up the mini collection set. I couldn’t get my hands on the Essie A Cut Above pink glitter polish (thanks Katy for the heads up on that colour, now I’m craving it so bad), so instead I got the OPI Muppets Collection Excuse Moi pink glitter. I also grabbed a nail art pen in white – these things are a god send for nail art amateurs like myself.

Here is my first attempt at nail art – the Valentine’s Day mani.

I was quite pleased with my first attempt, although the application of Pink Friday was a bit horrible and I had to do three coats just to cover up my bad application. Actually…. I blame it on the OPI Chip Skip. Anyone tried this? I didn’t get a good first impression. You can’t apply nail polish over the top of it as it is so sticky and the polish gluggs (yep I just made that word up) on top. Disastrous!! And I’m totally hating the OPI base/top coat. Time to move on to greener pastures me thinks. CND here I come.

Anyways… want to see what my love sent me on Valentine’s Day? Sure you do! It’s not Valentine’s Day anymore, so you shouldn’t still be mumbling and throwing dagger eyes at me for gloating. The cutie sent me a huge delivery to my work… a dozen long stem roses, a teddy bear and Lindt chocolates! And it was all a surprise. *cue love heart eyes emoticon*

The boy was away at work (hence why he sent me something) so my Valentine’s Date was my beauty therapist/cousin/shellac genius Angela who owns Lotus Wellbeing Beauty at Nundah! I see her to get my CND Shellac done… so we penciled in a hot V Day date on the Tuesday night… nails and a bit of Thai food and cupcakes. PERFECT! So in actual fact, I had 2 x NOTD (‘nail of the day’ in case you were wondering). Here is the second NOTD. CND Shellac Rose Bud with Moonlight & Roses over the top and diamontè flower detailing on each ring finger. Gosh… and here I was completely smitten with my CND Shellac Gotcha over Tropix combo… and then this combo comes along and BLOWS.MY.MIND! Look at it! It’s so pretty…

You have to see it in real life, because it’s so much better than in the photo. The Moonlight & Roses throws a golden shimmer and actually turned the flat pink Rose Bud into a warm coral pink. Gorgeous.

This post wasn’t so short and sweet was it? Oh well.

Let me know if you’ve done a Valentine’s Day nail art (post a link to it in the comments). Or just let me know if you’re a bit of a CND Shellac-aholic just like me?? I’m thinking of starting a support group. LOL.

I’ve got a little restaurant review for you today! If you are in Brisbane, then you most likely have heard about the new Japanese Dumpling and Beer bar that has recently opened in Fortitude Valley – aptly named, Harajuku Gyoza. It’s “cool”, “fun” and “cute”!!

How cute is the logo? I just want to squeeze the dumpling’s cheeks!

Word of Warning (or WoW *chuckles*) there will be a line up to get in. But it’s very much worth it. And hey… there’s sometimes a few japanese girls dressed up as “Harajuku Girls” hanging around the front, so you’ll be entertained.

When you get inside, it’s like you’ve just stepped into a bar in Tokyo. Everything is so cute and the interior decor is typical Japanese, with a retro twist.

We were seated up at the bar, which also surrounds the cooking area, on shiny red vinyl bar stools. We immediately ordered drinks, I got a Japanese beer (Kirin) and it came in a classic beer mug with their cute-as logo on it!

This was our view from the bar… in the “midst of it all”

Anni ordered Sake and when she ordered it, our tiny little Japanese waitress grabbed this huge bottle of Sake and then to our astonishment started screaming at the top of her lungs something in Japanese, it kinda sounded like this – “AAAAHHH$%%^*(&*SHAKKKKKAAEEEEEEEE^%”

Of course that makes the whole of the bar stop and stare… and then everyone cheers you on. This happens at separate intervals throughout the night… Anni ordered quite a few, so we got yelled at in Japanese a lot. hahahaha.

We then ordered edamamè and chicken karage to share, and 2 plates of dumplings each – one grilled and one poached. Below are my poached pork dumplings and I also got grilled duck dumplings. They were all amazing! They have soy sauce, chilli oil and rice vinegar on the bar for you to mix up your own sauce.

After we finished and let our food settle (and got in a few more Sake shots), we both ordered the only dessert on the menu… the apple gyoza, which is deep fried and served with vanilla ice cream. These are exactly like those Apple Pies from McDonald’s – but in dumpling form! Yum YUM! Feast your eyes…

But if you only go to Harajuku Gyoza for one reason… let it be because of the toilet!! Yes you read right, the toilet. This place has the elusive “Japanese Toilet”. We’re talking the gadget of all gadgets, it has a front cleanse, rear cleanse (LOL), air dry, heated seat etc etc. We were giggling so much!! It was all we could both talk about for the next day. We want one at home! haha

So if you’re obsessed with dumplings as much as I am, you really need to check this place out. It’s so cool. Worth the wait!!

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In my preparation for The Australian Beauty Blogger Weekend (ABBW) the weekend just gone, I booked in a few “must/absolutely/will die if they see me in this state” beauty appointments. A spray tan and an eyebrow shape of course – the two quickest ways to looking polished and ready for any big event where you will be photographed a lot. A lady of beauty can’t be surrounded by 84 other beauty bloggers looking like a ghost with bushy brows now can she?!

I decided to go with the Velocity Tan by Vani-T (rapid tan) as I wanted to be able to wash it off that night, I was catching an early flight the next day to Sydney and I didn’t want to stink the other passengers out. My other reason was that I wanted a natural looking tan (look for formulas that have a green base) that was going to make me look like I just stepped off the beach in the Maldives.

Velocity Tan by Vani-T is the world’s first RAPID Tan with Certified Organic DHA & Quad Bronzing Technology. Vani-T Liquid Sun’s internationally renowned luscious natural and organic based formula is now available to wash and wear in as little as 1 hour (1 hour – light tan, 2 hours – medium tan, 3 – 4 hours – dark tan). Wash off after the desired development time and the colour keeps developing. No waiting for hours for your tan to develop, tan remnants on your sheets, or an excuse for not going to the gym!

So like every other blogger attending The Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend (ABBW), I have been making a list of primping and preening to-do’s for the big event this weekend. On the list? New hurrrrrrrrr (or hair, whatevs). My hair was a bit ratty, split-ends like nobody’s business and my balayage tips were well and truly on the way out. I craved change. I contemplated getting the balayage re-done. But that’s like so 2010. It was time to do what all the cool kids were doing. That’s right… I went in for the CHOP!! Dum dum darrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!! (shocking revelation music)

So who was I to intrust with this hair makeover right before ABBW? Well only the snazzy muffins at Oscar Oscar Salon of course!! They have a reputation for delivering above and beyond, as family members of mine have been to them before (and if the allure of the fancy salon interior, smiling staff, Aveda products and Aveda tea doesn’t do it for ya, what will?). I booked in with the crew at Oscar Oscar Chermside (located at Westfield Chermside, opposite the Apple store).

Oscar Oscar Salon Chermside

So after only one day of deliberation on what style I wanted my hair, I finally came to the conclusion that I wanted the Lob, the look that Olivia Palermo and Lara Bingle are sporting lately. Last Tuesday, I shimmied in (ok no I didn’t) to the salon, ready to be transformed! I was booked in with Michael who would do my cut, and Olivia who would be my colourist (hah! An Olivia to do an Olivia Palermo makeover on my hair – sure sign right?)

After a cup of Aveda Tea – a calming, flavourful tea that promotes a sense of well-being includes peppermint leaf, licorice root and other pure flower essences, Michael got to work on my hair. I explained what I wanted, in the most complicated way possible of course, and Michael got it straight away. I was immediately put at ease and I knew that my hair was in safe and professional hands – literally!

Michael cutting off my hair!!

As soon as Michael was finished cutting my hair, I already loved it!! And I loved how he explained the reason why he did everything the way he did – from how he cut the under layers slightly shorter so the outer layers would fall and curve neatly under so to avoid the dreaded “flick outs” you get when short hair sits on shoulders, down to the cutting style and not adding layers to the front. Everything was perfect, and I hadn’t even had the colour done yet.

Next, Olivia and I discussed hair colour. We used the image below of Olivia Palermo as the inspiration. She agreed with me about balayage being so 2010, and said that the current trend is natural, rich, dessert-like browns and caramels and just enhancing the colour you’ve got. Instead of the obvious balayage look, Olivia advised me that she would be doing a “melting colour” look in which she would lighten the ends of my hair only a few shades lighter than my natural hair color, i.e. the look Liv P has going on.

Olivia asked me lots of questions, such as how many times a week I exercise and wash my hair etc., to determine what formula she was going to use. The roots of my hair were darkened to a dark chocolate brown to add gloss and contrast with the lighter ends using the Aveda Permanent colour range (up to 99% naturally-derived formula). The lighter ends were achieved by literally just painting the ends and then using a comb to brush the colour up into hair to achieve that subtle graduation.

So my excitement pants are well and truly on, some might say I’m getting a camel’s toe from them being on so high. Ewwww. I know I know. Sorry to make you vom in your mouth a lil.

So why the excitement wedgie (front and back) you ask? Well my pretties, I Miss Hip & Haute am off to IMATS in Sydney as part of the BIGGEST AND BESTEST BEAUTY BLOGGER WEEKEND IN THE WORLD (well Australia at least) titled The ABBW (Australian Beauty Blogger Weekend).

If you are a beauty blogger, I’m pretty sure you would already know about this weekend, but if you’re not familiar go check out www.theabbw.com to see what all the fuss is about.

In a nutshell, The ABBW is:

The Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend (ABBW) is a first of its kind event for Australian beauty bloggers. Bringing together Australian beauty bloggers from around the country, the ABBW is a two day event that will include the International Make-Up Artists Trade Show (IMATS), social events and much more.

The ABBW is a unique opportunity for bloggers to meet, greet, network and partake in some fantastic events. It’s also an exceptional opportunity for companies to promote and publicise their products to a dedicated and passionate group of bloggers, all of whom are singularly united in their aim to look stunning at all times.

So this weekend (EEEEEEE only 3 more sleeps) I will be jetting off to Sydney to partake, and boy will it be the most epic weekend ever. Part of the ABBW weekend is a visit to the International Make-Up Artists Trade Show (IMATS) and there has been a tag floating around about IMATS. I was tagged by the lovely Dana from Blushfully.

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Well well. Hello Monday. I do not like you. You’re such an anticlimax after the delightful weekend I just had.

The T-Boy is back this week which is de-frickin-lightful. If you aren’t aware, the Boy works away, so he’s only back for one week of the month which really sucks balls. But when he is back we take it as an opportunity to spend quality time together and go and eat out (my favourite!!).

Saturday night the boy and I headed out to dinner, and I chose the place – Simpatico Bar & Bistro on the Cnr Given & Latrobe Terrace, Paddington. If you reside in Brisbane, you would know that Saturday was WINDY AS SHIT! I’m talking branch-breaking, bin-bashing type status. So of course, when we got to Simpatico, where were we seated? Outside, stuck right in the corner, away from any of the gas heaters. Hmmm lucky I took a second jacket. But even then, it was still cold. To make matters worse, we were “forgotten” and no waitress took our order for like 15-20 mins!! Supposedly (and this was the excuse given), our waitress had gone missing?

We ordered Fried Green Olives w Roast Garlic Mayo to start, and we both ordered the Beef eye fillet w wild mushroom bread & butter pudding, watercress & confit garlic for mains. I got a Cabernet Merlot (my excuse was it was to warm me up) and the boy got a beer called Little Creatures or something? It was good (for beer)!

Lucky for them, the food was good (they apologised and gave us the olives on the house). I didn’t get to take any pictures of the food because it was a bit too dark (and I didn’t want to bring attention by using the flash). After dining at Simpatico, we headed into Rosalie and got a take home pack of Gelato! YUMMO.

Sunday morning we headed to breakfast at my fave, Vue Lounge in New Farm. This place never disappoints. Best coffee and breakfasts! Afterwards I headed over to Thousand Island Dressing which is in the same complex as Vue and bought a jewellery tree that I had been eyeing off for awhile. L.O.V.E it! I also hit the shops and bought some stuff from Sportsgirl. I’m not too sure on the sunnies. I loved them when I tried them on in the shop, but then at home the boy said they looked a little bit “Harry Potter-cross-Dame Edna”… damn him! Now I’m not too sure on them. LOVE the laser cut suede top I picked up though.

Oh and I also got a new makeup storage box… Will show you guys soon…. as soon as I complete the FUN task of filling it. SO FUNNNNNNNNNNNNN (am I the only freak that thinks organising makeup is fun?)

breakfast at vue *drool*

My tree all decked out in my bling

sportsgirl goodies

What do you think of the sunnies? I think they may only look good with my hair down.

Did you know it’s my last day of having long hair? I go in for the chop tomorrow!! So excited. Stay tuned for blog post.

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Disclosure

Content published here is of my own honest thought and opinion; content is not influenced by the provision of product for consideration. All products received for consideration will be disclosed. I try to credit all images not of my own; if you believe an image of yours has not been credited, or you would like to be removed, please let me know.